The Savior
by Eazy E 4 life
Summary: After an outbreak goes loose in a small town, a group a teens find themselves trapped in their school. Will they place their trust in people they barely know, in order ot succeed, or will they die for their stubbornness? Read and Review please... Complete
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

"Everybody gave me his answer sheet?"

I didn't cared much of what the teacher had said. It was Friday, we were at the last class, and I was bored as hell. In a few minutes, the bell would ring, and I'd be free to leave the school. The school, and the class, were silent, which was an unnatural setting for a Friday afternoon.

I was in secondary three, at the local high school. And, on this Friday May 23rd, nothing interesting had happened. A day like another, passing by without nobody really caring. Life was good to me, though I didn't really realized it at the moment.

I looked around, trying to kill time. My eyes locked on a girl. Not just a girl like another. It was Josie. I'd met her a few years back, but this year, I had really noticed that she was special. I couldn't say what it was, but every time I looked at her, I felt my heart going crazy. She was about 5'5, which was a little shorter than myself, and weight about a hundred and ten pounds. She wore a pair of skin tight blue jeans, and a black shirt. Her natural blond hair was long down to the middle of her back, and was slightly curly. She was hot, that, no one could deny it, but she had something more. Something the other girls did not have. Something that made my heart nearly explode every time she looked at me.

As she turned around, I turned around and did as if I was looking at the clock. I then turned to see my best friend Kevin. He was taking frequent glances at both his watch and the clock, to be sure of the time.

''Hey man... One clock isn't enough for you?''

''Yeah... Usually... But tonight is gonna be a cool one... Know what I'm saying...'' He said, turning his head to his girlfriend, whose name was Jen.

I gave him a friendly punch to the shoulder, and turned back to see Josie. An fat guy was standing next to her. I knew who it was. It was Johnathan.

All schools got that kind of guy. You know, some kind of guy that you never look in the face, that you change corridor when you see him. A guy that makes your life difficult, just fur fun. For me, and for many other people in the school, Johnathan was that guy.

I was interrupted in my thoughts by a loud, tremendous crash outside. I made a run for the window, and squeeze up in the newly formed crowd, trying to see what had caused the mess. As I could finally take a view at the scene, I realized it was a car accident. A red car was overturned in the middle of the boulevard, and what appeared like a military transport truck had stopped in front of it, on it's side. By the looks of it, the truck had hit the car by missing the curve, and ending up in the inverse route.

The familiar sound of the bell ringing echoed throughout the school, and the previously empty corridors filled up in a record time. Everybody had seemed to forget about the accident. I did so, and got back to my locker downstairs. We were finally done with this long day.

On my way downstairs, I was walking next to Kevin and Jen, and was looking at Josie, who walked behind us. Johnathan made his way to Josie. She turned to him, annoyed.

''Josie... You know... I was thinking that... We could... you know... go to the restaurant and...''

''Yeah... I'll think about it...''

I almost laughed. I knew what she meant by this. Johnathan passed in front of us, angry. So did he... I finally reached my locker and opened the padlock. Then, I heard screaming and loud talking at the other end of the locker room. I thought it must've been some fight. Maybe Johnathan was involved...

But when I turned the corner, and saw the crowd stacked up in the front door's windows, I knew something was off. I walked quickly to the door, and made my way throughout the crowd. What I saw then nearly made my blood circulation stop...

**Okay, that's only the prologue. I'll be updating very soon. Thanks for reading, and reviewing if possible. I need support to keep this story up. One last thing, this is a story I've first written in French, but it isn't a translation. It is a new version, all rewritten. Peace...**


	2. Chapter 1 : Upside Down

**Chapter 1 : Upside Down**

Outside, a from of life I could barely identify as an human was walking, or more limping, in the direction of a small group of students. About half of the students where outside. The creature grabbed a student with it's bare hands, and literally... took a bite out of him... I couldn't possibly turn my eyes away from the scene. I wasn't able. I was frozen in this position. Then, as a handful of these fearsome things came near the students, I turned around quickly to see if everybody I knew were inside. Kevin was there. So was his girlfriend. But what about Josie? Next to me stood a horrified Johnathan. He had his eyes locked on something outside. Or rather someone. I turned to see what he was looking at like this, and saw Josie, outside, surrounded by these mindless creatures.

''God-damned...'' I whispered to myself.

Then, without any further thinking, I dove outside, busting through the door like if it hadn't been there. I looked around. No one of these creatures were in my direct vicinity, but many were a little further, after the remaining students. I ran past the few monsters who had stayed behind. I saw Josie, backing up from a monster that seemed to want her for supper. She tripped over her feet, and fell down on the floor, on her back. The thing closed onto her.

''Stay the fuck away from her!'' I yelled in a strong voice.

The thing didn't even turned around. Without any hesitation, I ran to Josie, and grabbed her by the arms. I lifted her and placed her back on her feet. She almost lost foot again, but I grabbed her.

''I think... I got a sprain...''

I didn't added anything. I just took her arm, passed it over my shoulder, and helped her walk back to the door. Fortunately, none of the monsters had time to notice us. I pushed Josie through the door and followed her as Mitchell, another of my friends, shut the door solidly. I helped Josie to get to the nearest wall, and she sat against it, breathing heavily. A silence occured.

''Now what the fuck are we gonna do?'' Asked Tom, one of Johnathan's friends.

''We're all gonna die...'' cried a small, fat and, obviously, scared to death guy. It was Phil, the school's biggest nerd.

''Aren't you able to think of anything else than yourself, asshole?''

''Shut the fuck up y'all!'' Barked Johnathan, furious.

''No, you shut up!'' Responded another student I didn't knew.

''Hey, calm down... We already got enough shit on our plates without you messing around like kids.'' I said, to Johnathan in particular.

''And who for fuck's sake talked to you?''

''Shut up, Johnathan!''

I turned around to see that it was Josie who'd said that. She looked at me, smiled a bit, and sat back slowly, a sharp pain reminding her of her sprain.

''Look... We got to lock down the school, and find some stuff to block all the windows and doors. And...'' I started, trying to do something good.

''What, you're in charge, now?'' Asked Johnathan, frustrated.

''Those who wish to follow me, come this side. We'll get some stuff from the janitor's warehouse, and get shit started...''

At first, nobody came. Then, Kevin and Jen got on my side. Mitchell followed.

''I'm with you...'' Josie said, unable to move from her position.

Then, faster than I though, the fifty-something survivors went my way one by one. At a point, Kate, Tom's girlfriend, got to me side. Then, Tom looked at his friend Johnathan, had then turned back to me. He started walking my way.

''What the fuck man? You're letting me down?''

''No man... But Kate wants to go to the other side... And I don't believe you can keep anybody else than you alive... Sorry dude...''

He got with his girlfriend. Johnathan was alone in his corner. He nodded, furious, and walked to our side. I went to the warehouse, and opened it.

''Here...'' I said handing everybody a hammer, a few bolts, and, for a few more fortunate people, a nail gun. Then, I gave then wood plank, that were stacked nearby, as well as thin metal sheets.

I asked myself what the hell were nail guns and wood planks doing here. The, I saw two black lunch bags beside the tools. Some construction worker must've been renovating at that place, and ran off during the attack. And, most likely, got killed...

When I finished handing tools to everybody, I went back to the main hall, and saw Josie, still seated next to the door, watching the gruesome scene of walking death outside.

''You want me to get you to some place else?''

''Yeah... Thanks...''

I got to her and grabbed her arm once more. As we walked to the other room, she seemed more energized. I helped her sitting back to a wall, in the nearest classroom.

I grabbed a metal sheet, and nailed it to the wall several times, covering the window, After I blocked the second one with a large piece of plywood, I turned back to Josie.

''Better?''

''Yeah... It hurts less than just five minutes ago. With a bit of luck, I'll walk again within an hour.''

''Don't rush yourself. Take your time, relax. There's nothing that can't wait...''

''I hope so... I gotta go check onto the others... I'll be back...''

''No... Matt... please... stay with me a little longer. I'm scared...''

Her eyes filled with water. She tried to contain it. She didn't wanted to fall apart in front of me. She looked very affected by this whole deal. We ere all, each one of us, but she was more. Maybe because of what she had experienced outside. I walked back to her, and sat next to her, my back to the wall.

''Thanks...''

''That's nothing...I needed a break.''

''No... I mean thanks, for outside... I mean, I can't understand why the others just stood thee, watching, while you immediately jumped outside to get me, thought we don't even know each other...''

''I just happened to be looking at the right time, at the right place.''

I knew I could have done better as an answer, but the moment was already passed by the time I realized it. At the start of the conversation, our eyes were evading each other. But at that moment, my vision locked on her eyes, and so did she.

Lost inside her eyes, I realized I had never seen how beautiful they were. Sometimes of a grayish pale green, then, a second later, they seemed in a deep green, like an emerald. I was about to add something else, when the door opened and Jen busted in, a worried look on her face.

''Matt... There is something fucking freaky in the kitchen. Come check it...''

I got up reluctantly.

''I'll be back soon'' I said to Josie.

She made a small smile, and nodded. I walked with Jen to the kitchen. She didn't told me what was wrong. It was best for me to see it with me own eyes.

I made a step in the kitchen, and saw Kevin, a large steel pipe in his hand, facing the industrial freezer.

''Hey, Kev, what's up?''

''We got something inside there...'' He said, pointing at the freezer.

Suddenly, the freezer's door rumbled violently. Whatever was in there was trying to get out. And it wasn't looking very peaceable.

''Kev... You open the door...''

He handed me his steep pipe, and went for the door's handle. He placed his hand on it, and turned to see me. I shook my head in approval, and he pulled the door open. He ducked out of the way. A human silhouette was walking slowly, like a drunk man, towards us, in the cloud of white vapor. I swung the pipe with all my strength, hitting him in the core. He stumbled back a bit, but immediately kept gaining ground.

''Fuck...'' I muttered.

I swung the pipe again, aiming for the head this time. I missed him, and the pipe just scratched him on the side of the head. I had to calm down, or I would freak out and miss my shot again. I steadied my feet on the floor, and tightened my grip on the pipe. I swung it again. This time, it smashed right into the monster's left temple. Blood dripped from the wound I had caused him, and he stumbled back a bit. I was about to hit him again, when he finally collapsed on the floor, in a puddle of his own blood.

–

''Matt! Yelled Mitchell, running inside the room.''

''Yeah?'' I said, out of breath.

''The students that went down during the battle outside... they got back up...''

We all went for the closest window, to see that not much corpses were laying on the front parking. They had gotten back life. Well, not exactly life, but something somehow related to it.

''Damn... If those can get back up on their feet, the one in the freezer can too...'' I realized.

With the help of Mitchell, I dragged the corpse to a second floor window. Then, we lifted it upwards, and let him fall down the open window. It got knocked on a cement bench, and it's brain splattered on the asphalt. Soon, dozens of these mindless creatures went by and actually started to eat the corpse.

Around eight o'clock, everything was clear, and all of the first floor entrances were barricaded, and nailed down. I climbed on the cafeteria's stage, and grabbed the microphone that had been left in the middle of it.

''Thanks to you all, the school can now be called safe. All of the first floor doors and windows have been barricaded, bolted up, and nailed down. We don't know when rescue is gonna come, so we might as well get at our ease. Also, we found that breaking the ''zombie's'' head with something hard is a sure way to bring him down for good. But, for additional precaution, it is recommended to throw all bodies out the upper floors' windows, in case we missed the brains...''

''But how are we gonna sleep?'' asked Phil.

''I was getting to that... There are a considerable supply of sleeping bags in the camping project's room. We'll have enough, since we are only about fifty... Get yourself one, and find a classroom to sleep in. There is enough room for everybody to be alone, but you may want to team up with your friends, for safety. ''

I had a standing ovation. Well, not that much, since most of the people were already standing, too nervous to sit down, but still, I had an ovation. Then, one by one, we all got a sleeping bag. That would be our fortune bed for a while. Hopefully not too long...

I went up to my room, pulling off my shirt, which was stained deep red with the blood of the zombie I had killed. Kevin and Jen had taken a room, and I didn't wanted to disturb them. So I sat alone on a school chair, starring at the door as if something fearsome would break through at any moment and attack me.

The, a faint noise came from the door. A few knocks, very light, as if the person wasn't really sure of what he or she was doing. I went to the door, placed my hand on the handle, and turned it silently. I pulled it open in one fast move, revealing a very frightened Josie.

''Oh... Sorry Josie... I thought it was something else...''

''Yeah... It's good...''

''So, what are you doing here'' I asked, my voice as kind as it could possibly get.

''Well, I couldn't fall asleep, so I started wandering around...''

''Don't stand there in front of my door, come in...''

''You sure I'm not disturbing you?''

''No... Not at all... I wasn't able to sleep neither...''

''Yeah... Must be normal in that situation...''

''Probably... So, you're doing okay?''

''Yeah... My leg's okay... For the rest, I'm doing just like everybody else... You?''

''Same as you...''

''How many do you think it will take to get rescued?''

''To honest, I don't know... Might be tomorrow, might be in two months...''

''Or might be never.''

''Don't say that. We're gonna make it through this. A helicopter or a plane is sure gonna pass around here at some point.''

''Yeah...''

A few more minutes passed. We talked of normal stuff. At a point, the conversation almost looked normal. I stretched on my chair and took a quick glance at my watch. It was eleven thirty.

''Shit... I gotta go sleep before I fall on the floor...''

''Yeah... I'm gonna go.''

''Thanks for coming seeing me. Come back sometime...''

''Sure''

I caught a light of fear in Josie's eyes. Not normal fear. True fear. She seemed deeply terrorized of going back to sleep alone in her room. She walked slowly in the dark corridor, looking sad.

''Josie?''

''What?'' she asked, turning around instantly.

''If you want, I can go get your sleeping bag in your room, and we can stay in mine...''

Then, she ah unplanned reaction.

''Well... You know... It's pretty dark out here... I don't want you to get hurt trying to help me... You've done more than enough for me today...''

''Well... I ain't got other sleeping bag but...''

''We could...''

She cut herself out, nearly placing a hand on her mouth.

''No, keep talking...''

''We could... sleep... in the same...''

''Come in... Before you catch a cold'' I said with a warm smile.

I slid inside the bag. Josie slipped in nervously after me. She was behind me. I could feel her breath on the back of my head. She got closer, due to the lack of space in the single place bag. I felt her body touching mine. Then, I felt her arms around me. She instantly removed them.

''Sorry... Old reflexes...''

If it'd been less dark in the bag, I could have seen her turning bright red. I turned around in the bed, and faced her. Our eyes locked.

''You can let your reflexes come... They don't bother me...''

I smiled. She smiled back. A very simple, true smile. Our heads leaned closer one to another. My eyes were unconditionally locked into her pale green stare. Slowly, like she was afraid of something, she passed her arms around me once more. She lowered her head on my chest. I held her within my arms.

''We are gonna make it out of here...'' I whispered to her ear.

We both needed bodily contact, but I felt it was more than just that...

**Alright, there will be some romance further, but don't worry, there will be some violence for sure. Hope you liked, and, whether you did or not, leave me a review. Thanks...**


	3. Chapter 2 : Hope

**Chapter 2 : Hope**

I woke from a long dreamless sleep. The first thing I felt was the contact of Josie's body next to mine. I opened my eyes, and all I could see was Josie's face, close to mine. I could feel her breath on my face. I couldn't help but smile. She smiled back. We were inside the sleeping bag, hidden from the outside world. I was about to say something when a loud thud was heard.

''Matt?'' asked a voice I could identify as Mitchell's.

''Yeah...'' I answered, popping my head out of the bag.

''Damn... We though you were gone... It eight o'clock... None of us were able to sleep...''

Josie popped out of the bag too.

''Yeah... That's why he was able to sleep...'' Said Kevin, arriving from behind.

I nodded and got on my feet. I grabbed my shirt, reluctant to put it back on, as it was stained with dry blood. I did put it back on, since I had not other choice. Josie got up. I looked around, looking for Johnathan, but he was nowhere to be seen. Which was a good thing...

We walked to the cafeteria, and I once more climbed on the stage.

''What are we gonna do now?'' Kate, Tom's girlfriend, asked.

''We don't know how long we will need to be here, but in any case, we will need supplies. Food and weapons, basically. I propose we search the school and take back here anything that can be used as a weapon. And any food that we find...''

Most people approved. I got down the stage. Jen volunteered to cook. Kevin went to help her. They entered the kitchen, to come back twenty minutes later, their hands full of plates of pancakes. It was a good idea, since the eggs and milk wouldn't stay fresh forever. That would keep the non-perishable goods for later, when we'd really need them.

After we all ate a few pancakes, the students started exploring the school in small groups. I saw Kev, Mitchell and Jen going for the gym. I was about to ask them, but Josie's voice stopped me.

''Hey Matt... Can I... come with you?''

''For sure...''

''So... were do we go?''

''If you were a plate of food, which you are obviously not, were would you be?''

She laughed a bit. I smiled. She was so beautiful when she laughed.

''...The teachers' lounge...''

''Bingo...''

We got to the said room. I pushed to door, and waited to be sure nothing was inside the room. No sound came to my ears. I stepped in, Josie on my toes. In the middle of the room, a long table in light wood, surrounded by cheap looking chairs. In a corner, a small folding table stood, a microwave oven on it. Beside the table was a small-sized fridge. I walked to the fridge, and pulled it open. Inside, nothing was left, of course. Too bad we were Friday... Nobody had filled it. Next to it, a coffee machine had been placed. It was empty, but I was pretty sure I had seen some coffee in the kitchen.

We got out. Next to the door we had just gotten out by, another door, more impressive, in light wood, fairly large and high, was standing. A small metallic sign bolted next to it read ''Principals office''

''Let's go see what the principal had inside his office...''

We stepped in. It was a simple, well organized and functional office. Books were neatly pilled inside a row of bookcases and a still turned on computer was on the desk. In a shadowy corner of the room, some kind of shadow moved, at about on feet of the ground. It swung back and forth in a slow motion. I made a few steps forward, and recognized what it was. The principal. A large rope was tied around his neck, and he hung by the open door of the principals assistant's office. A chair was overturned near there.

''Damn...'' I said, breathless.

Josie looked shook up. Before I could actually realize what had happened, a shadow moved in the adjacent office. The assistant principals one. A person, a woman, walked out of the office, heading for us.

''Miss?''

All I had for answer was a sinister moan.

''It's a zombie...''

I looked around for a weapon. But there was none to be found. I made a step forward, and placed my hands on the nearest bookshelf. I pulled it with all of my strength. I fell down, knocking the zombie down. It tried to crawl it's way out of under the bookshelf. I picked up a thick book on the floor, and smashed it onto it's head. He stopped moving.

I pulled it out of there, and dragged it the body to the window. I opened it, and lifted the monster.

''Ehhh...''

The freshly reanimated corpse tried to bite my hand. I pushed him down the window before he could do so.

''Matt... You okay?'' asked Josie, a look of concern in her eyes.

''Yeah... A bit shook up, but it didn't touched me.''

She hugged me tightly. So tightly I could feel her pain. In another situation, with another girl, I would have found it a bit rough, but with Josie, it was so sweet, so passionate.

''Matt... Tell me you're not going to let me down...''

''I swear I'll always be by your side... No matter what happens... You can count on me...''

''Matt...''

She pulled me even closer to her. She lowered her head on my shoulder, and started crying softly. I didn't knew much what to do. She seemed so lonely. Josie was the type of girl that had dozens of friends. In fact, nearly everybody was her friend. But that kind of friends tend to let you down at the first hint of danger, abandoning everybody for their own interest. In the end, Josie did not had that much friends. I placed my hand in her hair, and tried to reassure her. I felt her hair playing down my neck.

''We are gonna make it out of here... Together we will... I promise...''

''What... why proves me you are not gonna... run off... like the rest of my friends?'' she asked, her eyes looking at the tiled floor below us.

I placed my hands on her cheeks, and lifted her head softly, so that she'd look at me in the face.

''Josie... I'm not going to let you down because... you're important to me and... I love you...''

Her eyes, previously almost dried, filled with a new wave of tears. But they were happy tears. I felt water in my eye. This time, I left the tear run down my cheeks, smiling to Josie. I had finally said what I had wanted to say since I had met her.

Time seemed to slow down. Josie had a great look of surprise on her face. I couldn't say for sure if it was a good or a bad surprise. Then, suddenly, before I could ever realize what was happening, I felt Josie's lips pressing violently against mine. Her arms wrapped around me. Her tongue slightly touched mine. I felt something no other girl had made me feel. I feeling of freedom, of invincibility, took control of me. Passion made my heart go crazy. My heart beat raised significantly. Then, she back up, her face turning to bright red. She tried to explain herself, to apologize.

''Sorry Matt... It was uncontrollable...''

I didn't answer. I passed my hand around her, and kissed her as violently as she had kissed me. Our tongues met a first time, than a second time. My hand lowered to her hips. We stayed like this for a long moment, blocked in time by this passionate and desperate kiss. I felt her smell. She was so sweet, so delicate, but so strong at the same time. It was straight disconnected from reality. But I loved her, that was what I knew. And she seemed to share my feelings.

In a dark corner of the room, Johnathan was standing. From his covered view point, he had seen the entire scene. His entire body shook like a dead leaf. He lifted his fist, whispering silent curses.

''You are gonna pay...''

**How is it to this point? Leave me a review, please... From the next chapter, I'll try and squeeze some more action scenes in it. Don't worry, these will come... Thanks for reading, and hopefully, reviewing.**


	4. Chapter 3 : A Sad Day

**Chapter 3 : World can't be perfect**

I was sitting in the cafeteria, along with a dozen of students, including Kevin, Jen and Mitchell, as well as Josie. We were talking about what we had found during the day, when Johnathan walked in, followed by Tom and a few friends. He stared at me angrily.

''You sneaky son of a bitch!'' He yelled at me, nearly exploding out of anger.

He got closer to me. Before I could squeeze in a few words, he continued his speech.

''You thought you could steal Josie from me?! The only damn thing that is mine in this fucking shit hole!''

''Calm down man... First, I didn't stole her from you... Second...''

''Shut the fuck up!''

''You shut up!'' Yelled Josie.

''Don't talk! You're mine Josie, mine, you hear?!''

He laughed sinisterly. He had lost it. My kiss with Josie had passed his limit. He could no more take it. He had gone insane, I could tell it by his voice tone.

He made a dash to me, and tried to punch me in the face. I dodged it, and, by reflex, my fist slammed on his mouth. He stumbled back, a hand covering his chin and mouth.

''Man, you're gone crazy?!''

''Sorry... I lost it... '' He said.

As he said those last words, he walked back to the staircase. I could properly say if he was sad or frustrated. I turned to Josie. She simply nodded. She didn't seemed to want to talk about this. I was understandable. We kept walking in the hallway, and arrived to the boiler room.

''Let's go take a look in there...''

''Yeah... Never been there before...''

I pushed the heavy door, and made an unsure step inside the well-lit room. Everything was cold, metallic, in this small room. A large boiler was set at the far end of the room. I looked near us, and saw a dead body, sitting next to a large machine probably used to regulate the boiler.

''Damn... It's the janitor...'' I said, after I recognized him.

Josie held her hand on her mouth. He had some sort of metal pipe blown out of his chest. He seemed to have been impaled by it trying to run from someone, or perhaps something. A look of fear was still etched on his face. On his frozen-in-time expression, we could read distress. He must've been begging for help until his very last moments.

I was finally able to get my eyes off from him. I spotted a large black suitcase, next to him, on the floor. On the handle, a bloody hand print had been left, probably by the janitor. It was unlocked. I lifted gently the top, to reveal one of the thing I would have least expected to be there, a gun. A neat, brand-new, nine millimeter caliber handgun, with a clip next to it. The clip was filled with small diameter bullets, ready to pierce the zombie's flesh.

I grabbed it, and slid the clip into the gun. Placing it into the back of my pants, held tightly in place by my belt, I gave a look to Josie.

''Let's not talk about this to the others... It won't help them...''

''Alright...'' She said, accompanying her answer with a nod.

I pulled down my shirt, to cover properly the firearm. We walked out of the room before the stench of the dead body made us puke.

Immediately, Kevin came to us, trying to catch his breath.

''Hey, we got a problem... Johnathan locked himself in a room on the third floor, and is threatening to jump down the window...''

''God-dammit...''

We ran up the stairs. In front of the door, Tom was already trying to get him out.

''Hey Johnathan, it's Matt... Come on, get out of there... It's not worth it...''

''You were the only one missing... Now my situation can't get any shittier...''

''Johnathan... Get out... You can sort this out... Just...'' started Josie.

''Motherfuckers! Now it can't get worse!''

''Try to calm down...'' I tried.

''Shut up!'' He yelled back.

Then, we heard the distinct sound of glass being shattered. I had no other choice. I backed up a bit, and rammed the door with my elbow. It shook a bit. I backed again, and hit it with all of my weight. It fell on the floor, half torn apart from the wall. Nobody was to be seen in the room. A window was broken in the far corner. From a closer look, I could see red colored liquid stains on the shattered glass. It was blood, it was obvious. Johnathan's blood. I made it to the window, and saw a hand grabbing the railing next to it, trying desperately to hang onto it. I looked lower and saw Johnathan, still hanging on by this right hand, quickly loosing balance. I grabbed his hand solidly, and pulled it up with all my strength.

''Come on, I'm pulling you up...''

''...Not worth it... I fucked up... I don't deserve to live...''

His hand slid from mine, and, before I could realize it, his head banged into the first floor's roof, and bounced to the the sidewalk. His head had cracked open, and blood was flowing out if it as if it had been a waterfall. A waterfall of blood, that is.

I felt tears coming to my eyes, but I contained them once more. I did not appreciate much Johnathan, but I had not wanted his death, suicide or accident. I turned to Josie. She looked shook up. A few tears ran down her cheeks. I sent her a encouraging look.

''Better him than us...'' Tom said, in a voice filled with regrets for his dead friend.

''Yeah... It'll be safer without him...'' Said Josie.

Panic started gaining me as a question passed through my mind. Had anybody else thought of suicide? Had Josie thought of it, at a point? I hoped not. She was the reason I was still alive for, in this upside down world. Loosing her would have been loosing me. The others were important, but she was indispensable. At least as much as oxygen...

We walked back to the cafeteria, slowly, reluctant to face the truth.

''As you may have heard... Johnathan... decided to finish this... horror voluntarily.'' I said, choosing carefully my words so I wouldn't shock any body. A few vague answers were echoed in the otherwise silent room. ''But... on the other hand... we have weapons, safety and places to sleep. We can survive. The only question now is... are we gonna stay here to wait for rescue, or will we try to do it on our own?''

''Let's face it...'' Tom said ''We have difficulty taking out one of these things... Hundreds of them, if not thousands, are waiting for us outside.''

He was right. We knew it. The solution, which wasn't really one, was to wait for the army to get organized and make a move against this. We were no heroes. No veteran soldiers. We were teens. We were far from being ready to confront this danger.

''Seems like the best idea...'' I said. ''I suggest that, from tomorrow on, we start getting things together to make this place more welcoming. If we are to stay her for a while, I guess it's better to clean out and organize it. Make it your home, because it might be so for a long time...''

Everybody approved at a different degree. Now our main problem was that the cafeteria's food supplies wouldn't stand for much longer. Until a few days, we would need to get some more food. After a few hours of debating on the best way to find some food, it was seven, and we weren't much closer to the solution. We ate some pancakes, our minds all locked on trying to find a way to get some more supplies.

Then, around nine, most people started getting tired, and got to their rooms. So did I.

''Hey Matt... Can I sleep in your room... It's not that... I'm scared but...''

''It's okay...'' I said, my voice as reassuring as it could get.

''We can go get my bag if you want?'' She asked in a shy manner.

I didn't knew what to answer. In fact, I knew it, but I lacked the guts to tell it. So that's why, ten minutes later, we were installing her sleeping bag in my room. She pulled off her shirt, revealing a black sports bra. I gazed a moment at her, lost in her beauty. Then, I pulled of my own shirt, and slid inside my bag without much enthusiasm.

Alone in my bed, I cursed myself as cold went over my whole body. A few minutes passed. I wasn't able to sleep. I got the idea of turning around to Josie's bed, which was beside mine. As my head turned to the side, my heart beat rose when I saw Josie was watching me too, her eyes shinning to the moonlight led in through the window.

''Josie...'' I started, not sure about how to finish it.

I didn't needed anymore words. She knew what I thought. We felt the same way. In a second, she was inside my bag. I felt the warm contact of her body against mine. We were so perfect together. I wondered why I had not dated her before.

Of course, it was a problem with my image, with my style. I wasn't bad enough for her friends. I did not reflect the right type of image. A pure product of a society that labels people, put them in categories like they were inanimate objects. It's strange how hard times can create a strong bond between people, in a short period of time and make disappear all form of social classes. No matter the appearances, no matter the respect amongst the others, in these times, people are just people. People are themselves. And the real Josie was even closer to perfection than the one I had met during school.

I felt her hands on my. Our lips met. Sleep didn't had any problems finding me. Even in this nightmarish hell, I was the happiest I had even been. I thought of what our relationship would have been like without this incident. But I remembered that, if life would have been normal, I would have been in my bed that night, and Josie in hers. We wouldn't have thought of each other. Well, she wouldn't have thought of me. Maybe this whole onslaught wasn't all bad, after all...


	5. Chapter 4 : Back in Business

**Chapter 4 : Back in Business**

When I woke up for the second time in this hell hole, I smiled as I felt Josie's body against mine. I opened my eyes and saw she was observing me, a wide smile on her face. She blushed I bit when she saw I was awake, then smiled again.

''You've been awake for long?''

''No... Only a few minutes...''

I got up slowly, my head trying to focus on our happiness, instead of the whole nightmare that surrounded us. If this was meant to be our new lives from that point on, I was alright with that. Of course, we had lost friends, and family.

Then, for the first time since the start, I thought of my parents. Were they okay? Had they turned in to these mindless monsters?

I shook my head, trying to forget about my family. They were part of my old life. They didn't matter anymore. All that mattered was our survival.

''Matt?''

I turned to see Josie. She had a look of concern in her eyes. The second I had felt sad, she knew it.

''I love you...'' She continued. A beam of light made it's way in the darkness of my heart. I smiled.

''Me too...''

We kissed. The passion of the kiss made me feel alive. Then, all of a sudden, life couldn't have been better.

I got up, got dressed, and walked slowly to the door, Josie on my heels. The moment I entered the cafeteria, I felt the heavy air that was filling the room. We had a problem.

''Alright everybody, we can't deny it any longer. We are out of food. We won't resist long without enough supplies for us all. Does anybody has a plan?''

''Well... We could just go to the grocery store... We'd take a car from the staff parking and fill it with goods, then just speed back to the school.'' Kate said.

''Yeah... That seems the right choice, but how are we gonna get a damn car? Even if we reach the parking in one piece, we won't have the keys.''

Everybody started talking in a nonsense clatter.

''Everybody, stay calm...'' I instructed. ''Does anybody knows which car is the principals?''

''Yeah... The dark blue BMW right by the side door...''

''Cool... Now all we have to do is to find the keys.''

''Maybe he lost them...''

''The office... He must've had them in his pockets!''

I walked to the stairs case, explaining the others to stay there. I walked to the large door. As I stepped into the room, I could tell the feeling of death in it had something changed. The dead principal was still hung in the corner, but there was something more sinister in the room.

The hanged man moved a bit. I stepped back, feeling a fresh wind to my face. A big noise was heard, and the rope broke. The body fell onto the floor, still unmoving. The wind blew once more to my face. What the hell was making so much wind?

The window! I had left the window open after dropping the zombie out. It was only that. I breathed more easily. As I turned around to close the window, I saw something I wished I had never seen. Some kind of creature was climbing inside by the open window. It had missing patches of skin on it's brain, and it's muscular body was of a reddish color. It was a bit like a spider, but long claws extended at each of it's hands.

Before I could make sense of what I was seeing, it jumped forward and landed a few feet in front of me. I backed up slowly. As it emitted some screeching sound, I knew it was going to attack. Back up again, but bumped into a wall. I felt something cold in my back.

The gun. I had completely forgotten about the gun. I pulled it out of my pants, my hands shaking. I pressed the trigger accidentally, and a loud detonation was heard. Of course, the shot missed. I pulled up the pistol, and leveled it to the monster's head. I shot once more, hitting it in the arm. It did virtually no damage to the muscle.

''Damn...'' I cursed at the approaching creature.

I squeezed the trigger once more. The bullet made it to it's neck, hitting it and bust through the throat. It stumbled back a moment, and I thought it was finished. The creature got back to it's feet and opened it's mouth. A long, snake-like, tongue slipped out, spiky darts covering it. For what I could tell, this thing was over a meter long.

As it readied itself to dive at me, I heard a loud sound. My eyes blinked, and then, I saw the monster with a heavy-looking wood drawer smashed onto it's head. I aimed my gun, and shot it one last time, hitting it straight to the brain. It collapsed to the floor, emitting one last scream. I turned to look who had thrown the drawer at the thing's face, and saw Kevin, a worried look on his face.

''Kevin... Thanks man, this thin would have killed me for sure...''

''That's nothing... But where did you get the gun?''

''The janitor had it near him.''

''Cool...''

''But, hey, don't talk about it... Neither the gun or the god-damned monster. I don't want anybody to panic. I'll find an opportunity to do so myself.''

''Alright man.''

I got back into the room, and saw that the principals corpse was no longer there. I looked around in a paranoid way.

''Where did he go?''

''Who?''

''The principal...''

I advanced carefully in the room. The flooring was dark, so I had t keep a close eye on it, to make sure the corpse wasn't there. A heard a faint sound coming from behind. I turned around, but the thing had already popped out of under a desk, and grabbed Kevin's leg.

I lifted my pistol, took aim carefully so I wouldn't harm my friend, and fired a single shot. It ripped through the flesh and bone of his head, and busted the brains into pieces. Kevin cleaned himself the best he could.

''Sorry for your clothes... I had no choice.''

''I don't matter. None of us has clean clothes anymore...''

''Yeah... If at least we could clean ourselves.''

''What about the gym showers?''

I had forgotten about those. After that day, we'd all need a good shower. I snatched the keys from what was remaining of our principal, and we got back to the hall. I explained the situation to the other students.

''I go get some food alone'' I said, persuasive as I could ''In the meantime, you all get a shower at the gym, and wash your clothes the best you can. I'll be back in a few. Just in case, if I'm not back in an hour, consider me dead.''

I walked to the door, but, half-way through, Josie's soft voice spoke behind me. I turned around reluctantly, scared that I could be right about what she was about to say.

''Matt... I'm coming with you.''

''No... It's not safe...''

''It wasn't a question. I am coming with you.''

''Alright, but be careful. I don't want to lose you baby.''

We walked outside, silent. Tom and Mitchell replaced the barricade after us. There was no turning back from this point. Her hand slid in mine, a comforting presence in my palm. My other hand ready to grab the gun, I was ready for any scenario. We reached the parking without much problems. I slid the first key in the lock, and turned it. It refused to budge. It cursed, trying another key. It didn't work. So did the one after. The fourth one slipped in, the lock clicked, and I jumped in. Josie hopped in by the passenger side, and I steered out of the crowded parking. I drove toward the corner to main street. The car sped fast and sharply took a turn, the speedometer over 150 km/h. I had learned to drive on country road during the previous summer, but it was different. I had pressure. If I failed, there was nobody to help me out. Josie wasn't gonna drive in this situation, I was sure about it. I turned to the left, and the car engaged in the mall's parking. I parked it in a fast way. I took a deep breath. Josie and I exchanged a encouraging look, and we hopped out.

Outside, a few zombies were roaming aimlessly in the large parking zone. The supermarket was a little bit further. We jogged to the door, evading the few zombies in the way. As I approached the double door, it didn't budge. A red sticker read ''Automatic doors, stand clear''.

''Looks like we'll have to break in...''

''Yeah...''

Josie nodded, looking at our surroundings. A few columns of fire lifted from buildings at distance. I turned back to the doors. They were solidly built out of steel, and it was unlikely that they could be broken down just by ramming them.

I kicked the lower window of the door, cleared it of any glass shards, and motioned Josie to pass through. She crawled inside. I followed her. Inside, a deadly calm was taking place, even more disturbing than the zombies' groans and moans.

''Okay, we take a cart, and get the most stuff we can take. Meet you back here in fifteen minutes.''

''Alright...''

''You'll be okay on your own, Josie?''

''Yeah...''

''You sure?''

''Yeah.'' She said, lifting her eyes to meet mine.

''I love you honey...''

''Me too...''

We kissed quickly, and went in separate directions. As I pushed my cart in the first alley, I wondered what was the thing we needed the most. It had to be nutritive, in in energy, but it was no good if it tasted like shit. We needed the little comfort we could get, no matter how little this actually was. My eyes passed over a shelve full of chocolate bars. Not only was chocolate excellent, but it would provide us some energy when we would need it the most, and when coffee was not an option. A coffee machine is not the kind of thing you keep in your backpack, ready for use. I stacked the entire stock of chocolate in my cart. We needed some sore consistent meals, as diner.

I grabbed a few large sized packs of spaghettis, and stowed them into the cart. These would always stay fresh, and were full of energy. As funny as it sounded, it was actually going to be our breakfast for a few weeks. We needed our energy in the morning, not in the night.

I grabbed a few boxes of energy drinks, and tossed them in the cart, along with a few packs of cakes, and a few bags of bread. Whole wheat bread... I used to hate that thing... But that was before the incident. Since then, I had more important matters in my life than arguing on which sort of bread to eat. I met Josie at the end of the fifth row. In her cart, cereals were buried along 3-liters juice cans, coffee and coffee filters, and a few boxes of long-lasting meat, such as bacon. We made it too the cash registers.

''Keep the money...'' I joked.

''Thanks sir, have a good day...'' Josie answered, mimicking a corny 50-years-old cashier.

I chuckled at bit, and we arrived to the door. I forced it open, using emergency handles inside. As we rushed outside, we evaded the zombies which were still not so numerous, thought more than when we had arrived. We had to get out of there before there were too much.

I popped the trunk, and we stashed the goods inside it. I locked it securely, and we hopped back inside the ride. The trip back to school went well. A few stupid zombies tried to grab the car, and fell onto the street.

As we stepped out of the car, which I had parked the closest I could to the front door, Tom, Kate, Kevin, Mitchell, and at few more students went out. Jen was holding the door open. They all took a box. Even Phil, the fat nerdy guy, came out of his hole to give a hand. I dropped my bags inside the hall, and turned to Josie. She was alright. Kevin and Jen were behind me. So was Phil. Kate rushed in a few seconds later.

I turned around to see Tom, standing still, his eyes unconditionally locked on an approaching flesh eater. I ran back outside, as the zombie grabbed Tom. At that moment, he started realizing the situation. He tried to lose the zombies attacking him, but in vain. I flipped the gun out of my pants, and aimed at the monster.

''Stop moving Tom!''

He tried to stabilize both him and his assailant. I aimed carefully, holding the gun tightly within my hands. I was starting to sweat. I pulled the trigger, and the bullet dug it's way into the thing's cranium, blowing it's forehead and a part it's brains. A fine reddish mist covered Tom, who ran instantly to the safety offered by the school. I followed him, sliding the gun back in my pants.

''Thanks man... I... I just paralyzed when I saw those things closely.''

''Matt, were the hell did you get that gun?''

''The janitor had it...''

''The janitor?''

''Yeah...''

''Why didn't you told us?''

''I was afraid it would freak out some of you...''

''It would've reassured us.''

We proceeded to the kitchen, and stashed the food inside the fridges and freezers. This time, it was real. We were safe. We had food, weapons, and were in a relative safety. My eyes passed on Josie. She had a little something gone in her eyes. A sinister darkness, almost invisible, covered her beautiful eyes. She looked sad, deeply sad. Something was on her mind, destroying all of her positive thoughts, feeding the negative ones. There was such a chemistry between us both I knew all that in a second. I had no idea on what was terrorizing her in a such way, but it was important.

''I haven't nothing else to propose for today... You might want to get to your room and get things in order there... It will be more interesting if you feel at home in your room.''

Everybody approved. Most of them were positive, due to the new arrival of food. Even a few had a smile their face. In fact, I had suggested this partly to be alone with Josie, to know what was troubling her like that. I steeped in our room, and she followed. We sat face to face. I looked at her in the eyes. Still, this tone of darkness, almost of death, was sticking.

''What is it?''

''What?''

''You can't hide anything from me...'' I said, my voice at it's softest. ''I know there's something on your mind...''

''Nothing... Just... Nothing.''

''Seriously, what is happening?''

She looked torn apart. A part of her seemed to want to tell me what she feared, as another seemed to fight to keep it secret. She looked on the verge of falling in tears.

''Matt... I really want to know... Do you really love me? Or is it just because of the situation?''

I made a relieved smile. It was only that. I passed my arms around her, and she placed carefully her head on my shoulder. She cried silently for a few moments.

''Josie...I understand what you're feeling, we got closer to each other in two days than I ever got with anybody... But still, I truly love you... Don't ever doubt about it. No matter what happens, you can always count on me to be there.''

We stayed like that a while. Our bodies so close I could feel her heart beat through my body. My hand on hers, her head leaned on my shoulder. Time is relative to the observer. Einstein had said it. But there, I experienced a much stronger version of it. As seconds flowed, passing so fast I couldn't see time fly, my love for Josie grew stronger. Time was passing so fast we could have stayed like this for hours without getting sore of it.

Josie was so natural, and so courageous at the same time. I explored a feeling I had never really experienced before. Beyond love. Beyond passion. None of the languages neither spoken nor written had words powerful enough to describe what I was feeling...


	6. Chapter 5 : The Breach

**Chapter 5 : The breach**

Nothing lasts forever. This is the only thing you can be sure of on this earth. Our situation was no exception to this.

In the cold night, the not-so distant sound of glass being shattered echoed throughout the otherwise silent hallways. I sat up in my bed, awaken by the sudden noise.

''What was that?''

''I... don't know... I'm sleeping...'' was all Josie could say before she fell back into sleep.

I stood up, and my vision focused a bit more. I was still having difficulty seeing through the night, but I'd have to deal with it. As I stepped out of my room, the adjacent classroom's door opened, and Mitch walked out, a worried look on his face.

''You heard it too?''

''Yeah...''

He lifted his baseball bat. I drew my pistol and cocked it. We walked together to the staircase and went to the first floor. A faint, almost nonexistent sound was heard. Then, a few moans broke the silence. They were inside.

We walked carefully in the mess hall. As shadows slightly moved in the locker room zone, I stumbled backwards. I fingered the direction silently. To the growing noise coming from the zone, almost covered by the moans and groans of the silent walkers, I could tell they were zombies.

Mitch took out his lighter, and the small flame lit a rather large area around us. The bruised and wounded face of a zombie was in our direct vicinity, a few more hidden behind, in the shadows.

''Damn...'' I let out.

I was about to shoot him down when I located many others, much more than I had expected, behind him. They were at least a dozen, but more of them could be taking place behind. I placed my gun back in my pants, and ran for the manual shutter control lever. The locker room had shutters to separate it from the rest of the school, so the students would not mess around during class hours. We had to shut them before these things made it too far, or we would not have any protection against them.

Mitch took the left side, and I took the right one. We pulled it open and slid it over the entire path. After the shutter was in place, we placed the safety lock. It clicked, and a feeling of relief took me over. But it was short lived. They would break through at a point somehow...

We ran back upstairs.

''EVERYBODY GET THE FUCK OUT OF BED! WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!''

Room after room, the doors opened, showing a bunch of tired looking students.

''They have taken the locker room. We have locked them in there, but it won't last long. We gotta get out of here. Get any clothing, food or weapon you have, and bring it to the cafeteria.'' I explained.

Josie took my hand, and I could feel her fright. She was scared. We were all scared. But this was no time for personal problems. We had dozens of problems down there, waiting for us with open arms.

We all went back to the mess hall. Most of us were holding a weapon that wasn't all meant to be used at such end. We had tired looks on our faces, and most of us were still half-sleeping. But what happened next really got us awoken.

A loud thud, followed by a metallic sound. This meant one thing. The shutters were breached. We were dead meat.

''MOVE!''

As hordes of zombies took over the room, some even breaking in by some of the classroom's windows as if a signal was given, panic started to gain the group. I grabbed Josie's hand, and kept shouting to get away from the gates, but most of the students were paralyzed into place, struck by the most fearsome aspects of the creature. In the mostly shadowy and unlit cafeteria, the old fear of darkness took over many students as the flesh eaters dove in for the kill.

Josie and I kept running to the kitchen doors. Kevin and Jen were on our heels. As I slammed open the kitchen double doors, I let pass my girlfriend, as well as Kevin and Jen.

''Mitchell!''

The individual in question turned around, nodded, and ran to us. As he passed the doors, out of breath, I took a good look around, my eyes adjusted to the lesser light of the room. Shadows and violent silhouettes drawn in the darkness. I could not identify any of them. I could not even tell if they were human of zombie.

''No!!''

The long scream came to my ears. It was Tom. I say him, a few meter in front of us.

''Come on, man, you're almost there.''

He did not answer. Something wasn't alright. I was still far from how bad it was. Next to him, a small object was laying in a puddle of blood, and a pack of zombies took place nearby, apparently uninterested in Tom.

I walked closer to him, and could see what it was about. He was on his knees, and, with his hand covering his face, I could tell he was crying. The piece of meat on the floor next to him revealed to be a human arm.

''What... are you... okay?''

Still, he didn't responded. He lifted slightly his head and nodded in the direction of the pack of infested zombies. Then, as I saw a corpse in the middle of the bunch of creatures, I knew what it was.

''Kate...''

Tom fell to the ground. His girlfriend was the meal these zombies were sitting around. A grotesque, barbaric scene that would remain engraved in my mind forever.

''Come on man... I'm getting you out of here...''

I lifted him the best I could, and, against his very will, I dragged his powerless body to the kitchen. As I was about to shut the door back, Phil, the school nerd, ran inside. I let him in, and I finally blocked the door with a stack of heavy food trolleys.

''Tom... You okay?''

''How in the fuck do you think I am, my girl's just been eaten in front of me!''

''Calm down man...We gotta pull through this...''

''What for? So I can live the rest of my life alone?''

''Look, Kate died to help you get out of this hell... I don't think you'll honor her death by dying yourself in this school.''

''And since when do you know Kate that much?''

''Okay man... you win... If you don't want to do this for you, I don't care. Do it for us. We need to get out of here. We need help. After we are out of here, you can do whatever you want. But dying here will only make our escape harder for us all.''

A silence occurred. We were all observing each other in a nervous, almost paranoid way. We were only seven left. And there was no way we were going back there to search for other survivors. There was Josie and me, in a corner of the room. Jen and Kevin were in front of us, and Mitchell stood silently next to me. Phil was alone, a few feet away from the group, and so was Tom, in the opposite direction.

''So, what we got to fight back?''

Josie glanced down at the rather heavy steel bar she held. Mitchell had a butcher knife, larger than normal. This tool was made to slice heavy meat, and it would still be used that way. Kevin flipped his smaller knife in his right hand. Jen had just grabbed a heavy frying pan from the kitchen drawers. I grabbed another pan and tossed it in Phil's hands.

''Take this...''

''Thanks''

We were in no case equipped to defend or take back the school. There was no point in staying these any longer.

''Okay, let's get out by the back door, and sneak our way toward the parking. There must be some kind of vehicle there to grab hold of.''

''What about the other?''

''They are dead... We can't do nothing about this...''

I could feel Tom's sadness as I said those last words, but it was what I had found to keep the others from running back into the room to search for survivors. This was no time to play heroes.

We silently got out one by one through the kitchen back door. In the pitch darkness that had overwhelmed the outside world which we had been cut off from for the last few days, death would have no pity for the defenseless teens we were. We had to be cautious, very cautious.

We all proceeded to the nearby car park. Outside, a very unpleasant feeling of being watched was as ominous as the darkness that was surrounding us. I could almost feel the burning glare of these mindless zombies observing me, cataloging me as a piece of meat.

''We should head to the police station...''

''Yeah... but it's too far on foot.''

''The principals car isn't big enough for us all.''

''This'll do...''

I pointed a small model bus stationed in a corner of the parking. A handicapped sign on it's side door signified it was a special bus for those with physical handicaps. It was perfect. I lifted my gun and headed for the still open door. I popped inside and searched quickly the area. It was clear of any resistance.

''Okay, it's clear...''

Soon, we were all aboard the bus.

''You okay to drive?'' I asked Tom, who was the best driver of the group.

''Yeah...''

He looked a bit less in pain than in the school. Maybe just because that damned building was bad for our mood. The fresh air had helped us clean our thoughts.

''Somebody saw the keys?''

''Yeah... I got them...'' Mitchell said, handing the set of keys to Tom. ''I found them on the first seat.''

Tom nodded, and started the engine. A few seconds later, the rather small bus was back in business. I could not believe how much we were lucky on that one. Guess luck had finally showed up for us. The bus rumbled, and it moved a bit. We all took place. Everybody sat, excepted me. I stood next to Tom. Josie was sitting next to me, in the first row of benches.

''You okay to find it in the dark?''

''Yeah...''

The bus' headlights came on, and the white beam seemed to light our hearts at the same time as the road in front of us. Soon enough, we'd be at the local police station, and this whole deal would be history...

**_I hope you liked that chapter, and I know I've been a bit long to update. That's because I've been working on another story, a GTA story. Check it out too, it's worth it. Anyway, if you have time enough to read this, leave me a review, it won't be much longer... Thanks to my reviewers, I'm always happy to get some feedback..._**


	7. Chapter 6 : Lock and Load

**_Thanks to all reviewers for your care. Enjoy this long chapter. The action really starts here... Oh, and, the language is a bit harsher than in the previous chapters, for you to be warned. _**

**Chapter 6 : Lock and Load**

As the bus stopped near the police precinct's font door, we were already ready to jump out.

''I'll stay here, in case they come back and we need a way out...'' Tom said.

I nodded silently. He wanted to be alone, to mourn his girlfriend in peace. No one could go against this. It was normal. I had admiration for him, for being still mentally sane. In his position, I would have ended this with a bullet. He was stronger than me.

So, that's how six of us jumped out of the bus. We started walking toward the entrance door. Mitchell pulled the door open, and we all got in.

The hall was in a lamentable state. Files and various documents laid scattered on the tilling, and several spots were stained with blood. Though no body could be found, we knew a battle had taken place in the room. Shell cases and bullet marks had redecorated the room in a violent fashion. Near us, chairs and small tables were overturned, having previously been part of a barricade of some sort, for what I could tell.

As a long moan echoed throughout the corridors, I turned in the direction it had came from, and lifted my gun. I silently walked to the open door from which it came from. The minute I approached the doorway, I knew it wasn't going to be pretty. I just didn't knew to what point...

Behind a trashed desk, a violent shape leaned over something I could identify as a dead body. I flicked the light switch, but nothing happened. My heart beat rose a notch as the zombie turned around to face me. He had a large laceration spreading all over his face, making it barely recognizable. Small patches of skin hung from the deep cut, and dry blood stained it. He had been dead for a while.

I lifted my gun to level with it's head, and pressed the trigger. A metallic sound ringed in the small room. Even in the darkness, I could tell I had missed my shot. I pressed the trigger once more. A small click took several seconds to make sense in my mind. My gun was dry.

I felt somebody passing in front of me, then I heard a sharp noise. Then, I saw a body fall to the floor.

''Who... who is it?''

Mitchell stepped out of the darkness, holding his butcher knife. It was sticky in blood.

''Thanks man...''

Me friend smiled, and we walked out. Since day one, Mitchell had my back. He was taller than me, and was stronger too. He had helped me a lot in my life. He was good hearted as he was macho, but, he really cared about his friends.

We checked the few remaining rooms, without finding any resistance. The police station was fairly big, as it deserved most of the surrounding towns too. We had good chances at finding serious firepower there. If the cops had not taken it all before, that was.

Kevin pushed the door leading to the armory, and smirked.

''I guess we won't be running out of guns soon...''

I stepped in and nodded. He was right. There was a lot of weapons. But for ammo, I wasn't all that sure. We all got in, and started searching for the perfect weapon. Jen grabbed a Mac 10 automatic pistol, complete with a 32 bullets clip full of 9 millimeter enhanced ammunition. She found an extra clip in a locker.

Kevin laughed a bit as he took out a large Desert Eagle pistol. It held powerful .357 rounds. He handed it to Mitchell.

''Man, you better take that. You're the only one who won't go flying with the recoil.''

Mitch smirked and took it. He had only one clip, nine bullets. But this was enough. We weren't going head on with the zombies.

Kevin took a Glock nine millimeter pistol for himself. Josie had already taken a Glock too, and was trying to familiarize herself with it. Phil was looking for a weapon.

''Take that one...''

''Thanks..''

I threw him a enhanced nine millimeter pistol with a extended clip that held 25 bullets. The gun was a bit heavier, but it had less recoil than the standard issue 9 millimeter. I looked around for a gun for myself. In a glass case at the end of the row of lockers, two standard police-issue pump-action shotguns were neatly placed. I broke the case and took them both. Two boxes of ammunition were laying next to the case.

''Phil, help me with that please...''

''Alright...''

He took the ammo, and I carried the guns back to the bus, followed by the crew. There was no point in staying here any longer. Being stranded in a building was of no use. We had tried that tactic with the school, and it had resulted in a breach, and the death of most of us. We had to escape the city. There were no other choices.

I handed a shotgun to Tom, and Phil gave him one of the boxes of slugs. He thanked us, and the bus pulled out of the precinct's parking lot. Kevin handed me a flashlight, which he had found in the lockers. He had a second one, and that was all. This would have to do. We were out of here.

The bus turned on the highway. As small buildings and infrastructure, mostly damaged, started showing on both sides of the road, we knew we were closing on.

In front of us, many cars laid overturned, and fire was burning them down quickly. Tom turned the wheel to pass aside the first, but hit the second and lost control. The bus lost contact with the road and fell on it's side. I was knocked onto a wall.

I slowly got up. I felt pain in most of my body, but nothing seemed to be broken. I arose to my feet, and looked around. Everybody was still unconscious. Except from Tom, who was sitting in a corner of the overturned bus, playing with his lighter to kill time. In a trash bin placed near him, what appeared like paper burned, providing a dim light in the front part of the bus. He turned to me.

''Hey...''

''I was... unconscious for long?'' I said rubbing my temples.

''Not much. Fifteen minutes...''

''Not that bad... The others?''

''They are all alive. We just have to wait for them to...''

A noise was heard behind us. Jen walked passed us to gaze out the window.

''Good morning Jen...''

''Yeah... It's three in the morning...''

She had a tired look on her face. Mitchell groaned and got up, his massive shape drawing shadows in the faint light provided by the fire.

''Good to see you're still alive...''

He checked his heart beat and laughed.

''Yeah, I guess I'm still alive...''

We did not laugh much. We were not in a situation to do so. These things out there were to silent. It was way to calm to be true. They were out there, waiting for us. But in the bus, it was whole different atmosphere. Calm seemed to flow in every bit of light we absorbed.

''Hey Matt...''

I felt hands around me neck, and turned around to meet Josie's gaze. Our lips met for a few seconds.

''You okay baby?''

''Yeah...''

Kevin and Phil finally woke up within a few minutes. We all found our weapons at scattered intervals throughout the vehicle. I passed Tom his ammo box.

''We'll need something to carry it...'' I stated.

''Let's just tuck it in our pockets and throw the box away. It'll be lighter that way.''

''Good idea.''

After everything was back in order, I got up slowly. I punched the side window which was now on top of us, and placed my hand on both sides of the frame. I pulled myself upwards and landed on the top of the bus. I turned around and helped Josie up.

''Thanks...''

''You alright? You seem a little bit down?''

''Yeah... Well my plan for the ride wasn't crashing and walking miles on foot, but we'll have to do with it...''

''We'll make it out of here, I promised.''

She nodded and we helped Kevin and Jen on their way up. Mitch climbed up easily, and helped Phil. Then Tom joined us.

From our vantage point on the top of our destroyed vehicle, we could not see anything more than pitch darkness. The morning would come within a few hours, but we couldn't wait for it. After a silent approval by every people in the team, we jumped down the wreck onto the street. The highway was silent, and the dark envelope that was formed by the night was cutting our line of sight down to a few meters.

Kevin's flashlight clicked on, and mine did so a few seconds later. The faint beam of the low-quality lights unraveled our deepest fear. Literally hundreds of zombies were walking at an alarming rate toward us. One even made a run for us.

I heard a gunshot and turned to face Tom. He had blasted the thing to oblivion. Mitchell was already firing with his Desert Eagle. He would not last long. He blasted two of them with a single bullet. I pumped another one's head full of lead. As I pumped back my shotgun, I realized we weren't going to make it that way.

Jen fired her automatic in a way only her could. A determined look on her face, she fired at the crowd of opponents, blasting several zombies to the ground.

''Let's get the fuck out of here!''

I heard Josie firing a few shots. A zombie dropped, followed by a second. Phil was being cornered by four zombies. He took aim and picked off the first one's head in one blow. He aimed at the second, and blasted it with three solid shots to the torso, then one to the head. Kevin put à bullet to the third one's head, while Phil finished the last one quickly. He was doing pretty good, considering the situation.

A fifth zombie grabbed Kevin from behind. Phil aimed and pressed the trigger at the opponent, but nothing came out of his gun. He lifted his hand and hammered the creature in the face with his gun. It fell to the ground in a fresh puddle of blood.

''Thanks...'' Kevin squeezed out, breathless.

Josie followed me closely, sometimes shooting at a few creatures that tried a sideway assault on us. For my part, my shells took care of everything that came in our way by the front. One of my slugs hit the knee of a zombie, and the bone crushed. The leg folded backwards, and he fell roughly on the asphalt. I shot him to dead afterwards.

A screeching sound was heard throughout the highway. On top of the bus that was now thirty feet from us, some kind of creature in the shape of an human, but with gorilla attributes, was getting ready for the attack. As my light beam uncovered it's body, I could see his greenish scales-like skin. In it's killer eyes, I could only see one thing : murder.

He jumped off the bus, and landed a few feet from us. We all took a while to draw our weapon, struck by the 30 feet leap the creature had just done in front of us. Gunshots boomed, but it was too late. The creature was too close for safety. With it's razor-like claws, it slashed Phil in the abdomen. He fell to his knees. Kevin ran for him, trying to return the favor, but before he could reach him, the gorilla's right claw dropped on Phil's head. It started squeezing the poor guy's head until bones cracked. Phil's head was literally destroyed. Blood splattered all over the street, and the now headless body fell down in slow motion.

''Fuck!'' I cursed.

I grabbed Phil's pistol, and tossed it into the back of my pants, after having pulled on the safety. I lifted my shotgun in the creature's direction and shot it once. IT stumbled a bit, but was nearly unaffected. Surprised, I had no time to pump back. It dove for me suddenly, and I dodged sideways, it's claw almost cutting me in half. Mitchell shot it a magnum bullet to the torso. It fell to the ground on it's back, but immediately tried to come back on it's feet. Tom pumped a slug into it's head. It screamed as Josie finished it with a few bullets.

''Let's... get the hell out of this shit...''

''Yeah...'' Jen said, looking back at the dead corpse of our comrade.

''We can't do nothing more for him...''

We blasted our way through the remaining zombies to the side of the highway. There was no point in staying on the road, with this great number of zombies lurking around. We could not stay here and mourn for Phil. Josie passed in front of me.

''If something happened to her... I'd become crazy...'' I thought.

Kevin and Mitchell were checking around for Phil's weapon.

''I already got it...'' I said.

They nodded. Then, in a split second, a zombie dog came out of nowhere and jumped on Kevin. He dodged, and the dog landed on his leg. My friend screamed as the dog's teeth dug their way through the skin and flesh, then crushing the bone. I lifted my gun but reminded me of the inaccuracy of the slugs. I heard blasting behind me, and turned around to see Mitchell, holding his still-smoking magnum.

I ran for Kevin. He had fallen and was bleeding from the wide open wound that the dog had inflected him. As blood dripped on the concrete and started forming a puddle around my friend, I knew it was over for him. He wasn't going to pull through that one. The wound was very deep, and it took nearly the entire leg. I didn't knew what to say. He broke the silence.

''I ain't... going to make it... this time...'' He said, pain deforming his face. Suddenly, I felt a chill down my neck as he said those words.

''But...''

''No, look... you know it was much as I do... I'm not going to... make it...''

I did not answer. There was no answer to this. It wasn't a question.

''Just... make sure Jen gets out of there... Keep an eye on her...''

''I'll do it... You got my word on that man...''

I would have liked to help him, to tell him everything was going to be alright, but he was no fool. He knew he was going to die. He handed me his Glock, which I stuffed in the front of my pants. Then, his once blue eyes turned into a shade of gray-white, emptied of any kind of humanity. He was dead. His skin was as gray as his eyes, and he seemed to rot straight in place. The thing that had made the cadavers lift up and become zombies was in him.

I back off from the corpse.

''Kev!''

Jen pushed me aside and came to hug Kevin, tears in her eyes. She bounced back screaming when she say him from closer. She started screaming like mad, and her nerves went out. She kept screaming and screaming until Mitchell took her and held her solidly.

''Look girl, we have to get out of here.''

His tone of voice left no place for arguing. She tried to dry her eyes, but they refilled with fresh tears the second she passed her arm over them. Mitchell looked around once more, to make sure none of these things got closer. He blasted one that was threatening us by it's proximity. I helped Jen to climb over the railing that limited the highway.

''I'm sorry...''

''So am I...''

She let some more tears out as she waited for us on the other side. Mitchell jumped over the fence. Josie came by me.

''You okay?''

''Me, sure. But you? You're best friend just...''

''I'm trying not to think about it...''

I could not let the anger take me over. I had to stay calm to ensure Josie's safety. Kevin was important to me. We had been friends since I had moved in when I was five. But nobody was important in the way Josie was. She was the only thing normal, the only thing happy that had happened to me since a week.

Tom bounced over the wall, and we all walked to the closest building. It was a rather slummy apartment building, complete with rusty dumpsters and trash cans. I broke in and opened the door. Everybody came in and the door shut back. Mitchell pulled a large sofa in front of it, and blocked the handle with it.

''Everybody alright?''

Each survivor answered in a different manner. We were all shook up by the death of our two friends.

''What we got for ammo?''

''I still got plenty of shells...'' Tom said.

''I'm down to three bullets.'' Mitchell explained. I threw him Phil's pistol.

''Still alright with that.'' Josie said, and sent a 9 millimeter clip to Mitchell.

''Jen?''

Then, in the silence that occurred next, my head clicked suddenly. Kevin's last words kept playing in my head as I saw a door finishing shutting. I ran into the door, ramming it open, and busted into the room. Jen was sitting on an old bed, her gun lifted against her temple.

''Nooooooo!!!''

I ran to her and punched the gun to the floor. The gun fell on the wooden floor, and a bullet came out, crashing in a nearby mirror. Jen looked very pale, and violent shocks animated her body as if she had been struck by thunder.

''Calm down... Everything is gonna be alright.'' I said my voice unequal due to the stress.

''What? Calm down? This is impossible! We are in a fucking crazy city filled with freaking zombies, we are hungry, tired, and we just lost two people to those shits! How for Christ's sake do you want me to calm down?''

''Everything is gonna be... alright...''

''YOU ALREADY SAID THAT ONE! THESE SHITTY SENTENCES ONLY WORK WITH YOUR BITCH!!!''

My fist hit the nearby table in violent thud, and I stood up, the fire of hatred burning in my eyes.

''Don't you fucking talk about Josie like that!''

''Yeah... And what you gonna do if I do so?''

I didn't knew what to answer. I had been too emotive. It had been stronger than me when she had talked about Josie that way. Before I could react, she grabbed the Glock that was in the front of my pants and pulled it to my head.

''Get out of my way!'' She barked as she pushed the door open. She got out of the building. I tried to follow her, but a bullet flew by and landed in the door, at about an inch of my face. When I popped back out, she was gone.

I shut back the door.

''Fuck!''

''You did all you could...''

I had not been able to protect Jen. Now, she was out there, alone, and in great danger. I had to keep my promise to my dead friend. But, on the other hand, running after her would have left the others alone. I would not be able to stand it if Josie would've got killed while I was gone. I wasn't going to get her. She had made her choice. I had remorses, but it would get worse if Josie would get eaten by these freaks.

I turned around to the chosen of my heart.

''Everything alright?''

''As long as you're with me...''

Her gaze met mine, and there was no need to talk. I felt tears running down my cheeks as she pulled me in a tight hug. Then I knew I had made the right choice.

''Mitchell, Tom, you two go get some sleep. I'll keep watch.''

''No way man... You did more than enough. You and Josie go get some. We'll be alright.'' Mitchell said.

''Yeah... We'll keep a close eye on things... You don't have to worry.'' Tom added.

I nodded and Josie followed me into one of the first-level apartments. I shut the door back after out passage. Josie leaned on the bed. The same bed that Jen had almost given herself death on. A chill went through my neck at this thought. Other than that, the room was boring. Dark wooden floors, dark walls with brownish wallpaper torn off at certain spots and a few old chests of drawers were all that was in the room.

I got closer to Josie, and felt her body against mine. Her angelic face next to mine. From there on, I felt asleep, exhausted by the day of hardness we had, thinking that the next one could be the last one for us.

I woke up, and the world around me was a blur made of brown wallpaper. As my sight went clearer, I could see that the place next to me in the bed was empty. Josie must've gotten up before me. I jumped out of bed, realizing that the door the the adjacent bathroom was half-open. Light came from under the door, passing around the heavy wood door. I pushed it slowly, and my heart nearly stopped.

In the bath tub, a girl with blond hair was standing, fully dressed, what appeared like a radio in her hands. My eyes rapidly followed the cord that was linked to the radio. It ended up in a wall plug nearby. She prepared to throw the radio in the bath. About a feet of dirty water was in the tub. The person was going to commit suicide.

''Why?'' I said, my voice cutting short by the emotion.

The person turned her head around, and, to my surprise, it was Jen.

''You let me die. Now, your bitch is gonna pay!''

She started laughing almost demoniacally. Her face shifted, becoming Josie's face. A look of surprise took place on her soft face, and she dropped the radio into the water. An electric shock passed through her entire body. She was shaken violently. Her skin blackened at some spots, burned severely by the electric current. She gave me one last look, imploring for help. But I could not reach her. My feet were stuck into the tiles of the bathroom.

The electrocuted body of Josie fell out of the bathtub. Her eyes turned white, emptied of all humanity.

''Nooooooooo!!!''

I stood up in the bed, sweat dropping down my face.

''Matt, you alright?''

I did not have the force to answer. Josie kept looking at me, concern in her green eyes. The same eyes I had seen death in. But this was only a dream. An horrible nightmare.

''Yeah... Just a nightmare...''

I did not mention that my nightmare was about her dying. That would have scared her, and I didn't wanted her to be scared more than necessary. I walked out of the room, trying to chase the image of Josie dead from my mind. In the hall, Mitch was asleep against a wall, and Tom kept a close look on things, his shotgun on his lap.

''You can got get some sleep.''

''Alright...''

He got inside another room.

''So, what are we going to do after we all got some sleep?''

''We could keep heading downtown. The cops there will be better equipped, and chances are the cop stations will have survived the attack.''

''Yeah... But how?''

''We can make it by foot. We are not that far. If we use the back streets, we will evade most of these things. If I'm right, it'll take less than an hour.''

''Yeah... The sun is almost up... It'll help to see further than our noses...''

''Sure will...''

I had said that in a persuasive way, but I was anything but sure if my plan would succeed. But we had to try. All those deaths had to serve something. We had to escape. For them as much as for us...


	8. Chapter 7 : Hardships Lead to Heaven

**Chapter 7 : Hardships lead to heaven**

I stepped outside, my ears reacting to every single sound. I scanned around for movement, but there was nothing in sight. I made another step outside the building that seemed comparable to heaven in comparison to what was awaiting in the dark corners of the outside world.

I cocked back my shotgun slowly, and walked cautiously a few meters. When I was sure that everything was clear, Josie, Tom and Mitchell followed suit. Tom still had that look of pain of his face, as if he was seeing over and over his girlfriend's death. Sadness was in no way a strong enough word to describe it.

In the newly arisen sun, four teens were what remained of the city. All had tired look on their faces, and carried weapons like they were Viet-Nam veterans. But there were no Viet-Cong soldiers, no underground passages, no machine guns hidden in the bushes. Just these three survivors, and an army of restless et idiotic flesh eaters wavering their arms in slow motion at their new preys.

''Holy fuck!''

Numerous zombies occupied the street in front of us. I scanned the area around for a backup exit.

''Over there!'' Tom shouted, pointing at a narrow back alley.

We ran for the alley, characteristic flaps of the zombies' footsteps on the humid street.

''I don't feel that one...'' Josie said, her voice weak.

I turned around to gaze at the alley. It was very narrow, and light did not pass much in it, blocked by the tall brown brick buildings surrounding the zone.

At the other end of the back alley, a few shadows moved in pitch darkness. We were sandwiched. Stuck between a narrow passageway filled with zombies and another bunch of zombies. We had tow options. Two directions to got. The later was way too risked. We could not afford a direct battle against such a high number of these things. But the former wasn't much better. In this narrow passage, death could be lurking around every corner.

I was about to lead them into the alley, when a thought hit my mind like an electric shock through my brains.

''This could be a dead end...''

Nothing proved us that the alley would lead to another street, or to any potential way of escape. We might as well end up stuck between a sewer gate and a pack of zombies.

''There!'' Tom shouted, fingering a door near the start of the back alley.

I ran for it, Josie still holding my hand tightly. I kicked the door once, but it didn't even rumble. I rammed it once more, and was about to do it again, when I realized I had a shotgun in my hands. I lifted it to level with the handle, and blasted. The door opened within a split second and I pushed Josie inside. But the door bounced back when I tried to keep it open, and what remained of the lock clicked back into place as if nothing had happened.

''Fuck!'' I muttered.

I heard a scream, and saw Mitchell getting grabbed by a zombie. He shot a few bullet, but missed every shot. I saw the zombie's yellowish teeth dig deep inside my friend's neck, and extract a piece of flesh, nerves and pieces of sticky flesh still extending out of the wound.

As blood dripped on my shirt, I realized what had just happened. I lifted my shotgun and filled the first zombie with lead. The second came, and had the same fate as his late companion.

I felt hand on my shoulders, and saw rotten fingers clutching around my upper arm. I bounced back and tried to push my opponent back, but it was solidly in place. I heard a click, then a gunshot. Tom had Mitch's pistol in hand. The body of the zombie fell to the ground, his head damaged by the small bullet.

As soon as the zombie hit the ground, Tom got grabbed, and the door opened. Josie yelled to get in. I lifted my gun to help Tom, but I realized it was useless. I would have blown both the zombies and my friend. By the time I could figure it out, he was laying on the ground with several zombie on him, clenching their teeth on some fresh meat.

I turned around, and tried to reach the door, but I was pushed in the back, and fell forward. I saw the door frame coming closer and closer until my face hit it and I felt pain deep in my head. My vision blurred, but, before fainting, I could feel a soft touch on my shoulders. Then I knew I was safe...

I woke up, and felt pain to my head, like a terrible migraine. I looked around, and saw Josie, sitting near me, asleep. Her fine features appeared very fatigued. She must've been worrying about me for a while before falling asleep. She looked sad, deeply sad. As if joy had forever left her mind for another world. A world were atrocities like this would never take place.

Watching her sleep, this look of sadness etched on her face, holding a cold gun between her hands, I came to ask myself if it was worth it. If life was worth all of this. If death would not be more welcoming.

I gazed down at my own gun, placed on the floor in front of me, and then gazed back at Josie. During a split second, I thought it might have been better if I killed us both. I had the power to end this nightmare the moment I wanted it, to prevent us from seeing any more of this horror.

I lifted slightly my gun, my hands trembling with fear. I leveled it with Josie's head. She had not deserved this crap. Neither had I.

I slowly pulled back the pump, and readied the weapon for the shot. Silence crept in like a dangerous animal ready for attack. I slipped my finger on the trigger. Sweat was dropping down my face.

I could not do this.

It was simple as it could get. I was not capable of doing such a barbaric act, even if it could save us a load of crap. We had to try to escape. If we could do so, I did not asked anything else from god. God... what an abstract notion, what a useless use of words. God was supposed to be a good and just being ruling over the world, insuring good people a bright future. Something had been horribly wrong with that basic. Maybe there was no god after all. Just an excuse the human being made to believe that they weren't the strongest thing in the universe, that their action could always be fixed by some powerful force from above.

I released my finger from it's nest, and dropped the gun. Me, who had since the start been the leader, was the one loosing it now. Without a group to support my decisions, I would not be no leader. I wasn't a leader without a group to lead. With only Josie to protect, I would have to watch myself more than ever.

Grief had been a feeling almost absent from my mind since the start. But now, I felt like it was all of my fault, like if I had killed those students. Just as if I had cocked the gun and squeezed the trigger. I had felt responsible for these people, when it had not been my job. They were as responsible as me.

As my thought started being more and more dark and depressive, I closed my eyes. One question totally excluded from my thoughts since the start was traveling in my mind, coming back on forth.

_Was she really loving me?_

Since the start, I had been worried about me feelings towards her, about how I would tell her. But now, it was the other way around. I had never pictured her not loving me. But I had to admit it was possible. There was a strong bond between us both, but to call it love, was I completely out of the tracks?

I did not knew what to think. So it was with pleasure that I saw Josie waking up. Physical action in the room sucked my away from my thoughts, made me put them aside for a while.

''Matt... You're okay?''

''Yeah...''

I grabbed my gun, made a forced smile to reassure her, and went for the door.

''Matt?''

''What?''

''We don't have to leave now...''

I walked back to her.

''Matt... You look concerned...''

''I'm just tired... of all this...''

Her green eyes shone darkly as I said those words. She caught the sadness in my voice. I felt her getting closer to me, passing her arm around me.

''Matt... since the start... I've been worrying about... you not loving me... but... I haven't thought you might think... the same thing...''

The surprise left me breathless. She immediately knew how I felt, what bothered me. Perhaps because she had experienced the same thing. I smiled to her slightly.

''Matt... I love you... At the start, I wasn't sure... I thought it might have been just because you saved me... But now I can say it... I love you...''

I felt tears running down my cheeks. For a second, a forgot about all the sad events of the day, and only one thing was on my mind : her.

Our lips met, and this time, it was even better than any other time. Because we knew we could tell everything to the other. We were like one heart separated in two persons.

Relieved, I stood up, and went for the front door with Josie. I might not know what tomorrow had in store for me, but I knew one thing.

_She loved me._

And that was enough to get me through any amount of crap.

We walked a few blocks. Almost none of these things were in sight. We easily dodged the few zombies we encountered. After a few minutes of walk, we arrived in front of a large sign.

''Downtown...''

A large bridge overlooked the river. On the other coast, the city was stretching, endless, beautiful. Sun shone through the high rise towers. I made it look heavenly.

We crossed the bridge still without any problems. A few wrecked cars were the only thing that stood on the bridge.

As we got closer to the city, we could see it wasn't as heavenly as it looked from a farther point of view. Fire lifted from a few slummy buildings, and cars laid overturned or simply burned down in the middle of the roadway. The high-rise part of town looked untouched, but it was far away, and I could not see the details.

We walked a few blocks before realizing how big this city was. We could not make it to a police station on foot. We were most likely to get caught in a dead end and cornered.

A few blocks from there, Josie saw a car parked across an intersection, lights still on, a dead body near it. A zombie was eating his fest. We got closer and cut his lunch fast with a slug to the head. As I hopped in the car, I noticed the keys where still on, and the engine was running. The guy's death was obviously recent, since the car battery would have ran low had it happened many hours ago.

Josie followed me, and climbed in the passenger seat. I drove around the larger street, hoping to see a police station. We finally found one after half an hour of search. I hopped out.

The large glass-made building rose in front of me, modern and imposing. This time, we would stay...

_**Sorry, no update for a while, but I was focusing on some other story, The Pyramid of Violence. Please, let me know how you like it, and, if you want to contact me, use my Yahoo! Instant Messenger. It is ''gangstermat320''. Or just leave me a review. Another fact, this story being a rewritten version of a story I wrote in French, I have to say that the original story ended sort of like near that point. So for now on, I'll be creating new chapters, no longer just rewriting. So it might take a little longer. Thanks a lot, and take care everybody...**_


	9. Chapter 8 : Far From Paradise

**Chapter 8 : Far from paradise**

_**Thanks to every reviewer, you are reason why I write. And, if you like my writing style, go check out some of my other stories. Have a good reading...**_

I kicked in the hall, gun in hand. I head Josie checking her gun behind me. The room was in total disarray. Overturned pieces of furniture, files, bloody weapons, mostly broken or out of ammo and such items where scattered all around the scene. But one very obvious thing was missing. The bodies.

Blood stains marked several places at which bodies had once laid, but there was nothing left of it, except a human shaped cleaner spot on the floor. On the walls, especially near the entrance, bullet marks had dug their way through the metal, and had shattered a few windows.

The battle had ended a while back, and, be the looks of it, the cops had lost it. It was amazing how we, normal teens, had survived so much, and how trained cops had died at their first zombie encounter. We were blessed, but that blessing was some sort of curse, when we came to think of all we had been through, and all we would have to go through. This was anything but over.

I rounded the desk corner, and checked counter. No keys were left on the key stand. I assumed the doors had been unlocked in a last try to run away. I went back for the front door, and shut it solidly. The lock clicked in, meaning one thing. This place was ours.

The main hall was a large room, with a surprisingly appreciable modern decoration. Pushing the double door in front of us, we stepped in a smaller room, with a higher celling. At the end, two staircases separated in two distinct ways. The room was well light by some white bulbs on the side walls. The very pure light made the staircase look much like the access to heaven.

We made it to the stairway, and I made a few steps. The silence was ominous as we climbed the stairs. I rounded another corner, and made it for the only door. I opened it, and we arrived in some sort of large meeting room. Seats were disposed all around the room, in a circular pattern, and a large stage was in the middle. A microphone stood in the middle, but I doubted it was for musical performances.

Apart from a normal litter such as a few empty bottles of water, the room was clean. It did not look like it had been the scene of a battle. On each side, a row of large-sized cabinets maybe filled with plans and files were stretching.

We walked to the middle of the room. It was a lot larger than it first looked like. After a rather long walk, we arrived at the middle desk. Then, a sudden sound coming from the left side of the room made us raise guns.

Josie and I exchanged glance, and made toward the direction from where it had come from. It appeared to come from one of the cabinets. I placed my hand on the handle, and pulled it firmly. A loud thud echoed in the room, but the door stood untouched. I tried once more, and it opened a few inches. I kicked it open, to reveal a women knelt in the very limited space.

Before I could ask myself whether she was human or not, she scream loudly. I rubbed my ears. I had my answer.

''Are you okay?''

The woman shook her head in approval. I lent her my hand and helped her out of her hideout.

''What the hell were you doing in there?'' I asked, half amused, half concerned.

She took her breath a few seconds before answering.

''Those things broke in and took all of the cops out... I ran in here and...''

She started panicking as if she was seeing the scene over and over again. She felt guilty about the cops' death. I was familiar with that sort of feelings. I had loads of deaths on my conscience. In the action, it had not been so important, but now that we were safe and sound, it started to weight heavy on my already troubled mind.

''What are we going to do?''

''Nothing...''

''What?''

''You heard. We just have to stay here and wait for rescue. If this precinct did not stand, there is no reason for any other to have done so.''

I looked at Josie. She looked too exhausted to think. Looking at her in that way reminded me that I was tired as hell too. Fatigue crept in as if it had been waiting for me to open the door of my mind. I felt my strength diminish drastically.

''Okay, ma'am you know if there still is some ammo in the armory?''

''Might be... I don't know...''

I went for the map place onto a wall, and found our location. Then, I easily found the armory.

''Follow us...'' I told the lady.

She nodded once. We made it slowly but surely to the armory. I opened the doors. Silence was taking place in the weapon deposit. The greenish tile floor made the room look somehow like a high school. It was strange that as room built exclusively to store instruments of death would have the same sort of look as a school, but that was far away from our problems. It sort of reminded me of the school that had been our refuge for the first day. That school where all of our friends had died.

I had the cliché feeling that something was not right about this. It was too easy. I rounded the corner and checked the first row of lockers. I found a few clips of 9mm bullets, and a knife, which I tossed in my waistband, between my belt and my pants.

''What you got Josie?''

''A broken flashlight, and a few empty clips...''

''Take these...''

I thew her the ammunition for her gun, and got to the second row.

''Damn, the cops took most of the stuff with them...'' I murmured, half to myself.

I found a box of shotgun shells laying on the floor. I opened it. I was still half full, so I stashed the remaining shells in my pockets.

I went for the last row of lockers. It was larger than the two first, and was somewhat different. In what exactly, I could not tell, but it was different. Something was watching us. I looked up, and my gaze locked on a round object in the far end. A camera.

I slowly walked out of the camera's reach, and turned my head to the woman.

''Where is the security room?''

''Second floor, just here...'' she said, pointing a location on the nearby map.

''Alright... You two stay here, I'll check things out there...''

''No way... I'm coming with you.'' Josie almost yelled, grabbing my hand firmly.

''Okay, so then you come with me too.'' I told the woman.

She nodded once more, and we were on our way.

We soon arrived to the security room. A dark blue metallic door was standing between us and the room. I slipped my hand on the knob, and turned it slowly. Once I had turned it, I pushed the door. It bounced open. Inside the small room, nothing was moving. The screens where all turned on and the chair was turned to the other side as if someone had gotten out of his seat in a real hurry. But, even in the darkness of the windowless room, a hint of somebody's presence had been left. The chair was still slightly moving. Someone had been sitting in there until very recently. A few minutes, perhaps less.

In a totally silent motion, both Josie and I turned around to gaze at the corridor. Some noise was heard in the background, coming from the hallway. We ran out of the security room.

As I stepped out of the room, several detonations where heard, and I felt sharp pain hitting my forearm. I could squeeze a curse before the gunshots continued, louder in intensity. We were pinned down. I ducked behind the open door, pushing Josie back inside the small room, and popped my head out of cover to gaze at the shooter. I was astonished...

_**Yeah, I know, this one was a little short, but I just wanted you to know that I'm still writing this story, only, I had writer's block, and I'm going to have final exams, so be patient. The next chapter will come...Thanks for reading, and please, leave me a review. Much appreciated... **_


	10. Chapter 9 : The Outcome

**_I'm a sorry to announce that this is the last chapter for this story. I have run out of ideas for it, and I'd like the keep some ideas for my other story ''Tied Until the End''. Enjoy this last chapter..._**

Standing at a few meters from the doorway I was peeking from, a rather short girl held a light automatic, aiming it at us. As my eyes followed the trail of smoke escaping from the canon of her gun, I took a good look at her face. My heart stopped.

It was Jen.

Clueless, I stood in the doorway until I heard the gun clicking again. I ducked back behind the wall. Things had never been so cloudy in my head. My dead friend's girl was taking shots at us.

I could not hear a sound over the loud clatter of the automatic. I had no clue on where she had found that gun. Maybe the armory, maybe someplace else. But that was far from the matter at hand.

I had to do something. But what? The answer lurked within my head. I was trying to run from it. I could not possibly take her down. She had been Kevin's girlfriend. She had been my friend. And she still would be at it been of that whole incident.

I clutched my shotgun tightly, awakening the pain that had hit my arm at first. Blood was dripping from a fairly large cut on my forearm. It could not have been caused by a bullet. A piece of tile stuck out of it, making me realize that not only bullets were flying in the room.

I turned my attention back to the shooter, forgetting about my wound. There would be more of those before we could escape.

Was I going to shoot her down? Was I really capable of doing so? Without going nuts afterwards?

As a bullet flew right next to Josie, she screamed loudly, and I snapped out of my thoughts. The other woman was taking cover further in the room, and was untouchable to the bullets sent by Jen.

''Ah, almost shot your bitch!'' Jen shouted, her voice anything but normal-toned.

''I warned you not to fucking say that!''

As I said that, I rose to my feat, and crept closer to the open door. My shotgun to my hip, I back to the wall.

''Come on Jen, drop the damn gun... There is no point in shooting us down...''

''Yeah... There is a point... You made Kevin die... With your sorry-ass bossy plans.''

Upon hearing the accusations, I was astonished, and stood silent for a few seconds. Kevin's death caused me enough pain like that, I had no need to feel guilty about it on top of that.

''I did not kill him... Those things did. It's hard enough to survive through this for all of us, yourself included, so just make it easier by dropping the gun...''

''No way man...'' she said simply. Emotions was palpable in her voice tone.

I had to do something.

I got up and rounded the corner.

''Stand back Matt, I will fuck you up if you don't!'' She barked.

''I know you won't... You're not able... You're not a murderer.''

I was not sure about what I was saying. I could only hope it was true, or I would be dead within seconds. I kept walking forward, in Jen's direction.

''Back off or I shoot!'' She said, tears starting to run down her cheeks. I was pretty sure by now that she would shoot me down. When people are overwhelmed by emotions, good or bad, they don't have barriers to stop them from doing things they would not do normally. And Jen was so sad, she probably didn't saw life after this. I knew how it was. If I had lost Josie, I would probably have gotten worse than her.

I finally arrived next to Jen.

''Drop it... There is no point in shooting me down...''

She slowly lowered her hand. Her grip on the gun's handle loosened, and the light automatic fell on the tiles, cracking one.

''See... It was pretty easy...''

But Jen's expression was not any better. She seemed even more panicked. I prepared to ask her about it, but I felt a burning pain hitting my neck, from behind. It had nothing to do with normal pain. It was like I was burning from inside. The pain became more and more intense until the point where I saw the floor getting closer and closer. It hit the floor head first, and the pain stabilized at a certain point. It was better than moments ago, but it was still barely tolerable.

The world became blurry, and my vision went black after a few seconds. I head one gunshot, and then it all fell silent.

I though I had been killed. I thought death had come for me. But th pain kept being there. I could not even open my eyes. I was paralyzed, and I could not feel anything. It was like I was floating in the air. I was panicking. Was I really dead?

But then, all in one shot, my eyes opened, and my body regained it's normal sensations. The pain was still there, not nearly forgettable. At first all I saw was a light bulb flickering in the dark. But then I saw a door in front of me. I looked around.

I was laying on a bed, in a rather large room. Nobody was in sight. I ran my hand on the location of the pain, and felt a large wound. It was deep and, even though I could not see it, I could tell it was not a gunshot.

Before I could realized the truth, Josie came in from a corner of the room

''Matt... you woke up...''

I felt too weak to answer. The door then opened, and Jen walked in. My heart almost stopped, and I ran my eyes over my surroundings looking for a gun. Josie placed her hand on mine.

''Don't worry, she... everything is okay with her...'' She whispered to my ear.

I calmed down a bit. If Josie said it, it must've been true. She did not appreciate much Jen from the start, so it must've been a very hard thing to accept her after what she had done.

''What... what happened?''

''You got attacked... by one of these things...''

''A zombie?''

''Yeah...''

It took me a long time before I realized the dark truth. I was infected. I was in route for an inevitable doom, an eventual transformation into one of those things. And them, before even thinking of my own life ending, I thought of Josie. Would she end up doing like Jen?

''So... I... am infected...''

Josie looked at me a long while, tears filling her magnificent green eyes, before she could say something. She did not wanted to admit the truth. So did I.

_Thirty minutes earlier. _

Josie had seen this zombie attacking Matt, powerless to react until it was all over. Jen had taken out the zombie, and Josie had ran to Matt. It was only then that she knew it was all over. All those effort to get out of the city had crumbled and been ruined by this split-second. The zombie had driven his teeth deep into Matt's flesh, piercing easily the skin, and feeding itself in fresh human cells.

Josie knew one thing. Matt would die. She was trying to deny it, but it was not debatable. It was an established fact. Se could not know when exactly, but he would become one of them. He was lost, and so was her. She would be nothing without her.

The thought traveled her mind like electric current. She grabbed her handgun and aimed it back at Jen.

''You sorry bitch!''

She cocked it, anger flashing through her eyes. Jen could tell she was going to die there. She knew it. She had wanted to kill Matt, and he had nothing to do with Kevin's death. Had it been from Jen, Matt would still have been uninfected. It was clear that she wanted her dead more than anything.

Josie pulled the trigger, and the bullet came out. It flew through the air, straight toward Jen's torso. But it passed beside Jen and hit a window.

''I... I will kill you...''

''Josie... I understand you want to kill me. And I don't want to oppose this. Only, let's just bring Matt to safety before that...''

Josie nodded slightly, and they both took Matt's unconscious body to the medical room.

Jen glanced sadly at Josie.

''It's time...''

I looked at her, then back at Josie.

''Time for what?'' I asked, half there only.

Both girls looked at me a long time, hesitant to tell me what they were going to do.

''I... I gotta die...'' Jen spat out, raw.

I glared at her a moment. Then, I turned my attention to Josie.

''Now way...''

''She is the reason you...'' Josie cut herself.

''I know. Don't you think I should do it myself?''

''You want to kill her?''

''Yeah.'' I said, with no hesitation in my voice.

''Matt... It's my job to do this...'' Josie told.

Something in her expression looked like she was imploring me to do it for her whatever she was telling me. She did not looked like she wanted to kill somebody. And I did not wanted to know that she was a murderer. Especially not if I was the reason why she had killed.

''Josie. I want to do this. I almost died back there... And being the reason you kill her will make us both murderers. Let me take care of this. I will be alone to have done this...''

She resigned. I got up slowly, and sat on the bed. I pondered a bit whether I was able to get on my feel or not, and stood up. It hurt a bit more when I was standing, but it was nothing in comparison to how much it hurt when I thought of being separated from Josie.

I walked toward Jen, and instructed her to get out of the room, as I took the pistol Josie was handing me. I felt kid of sad that the love of my life had to provide me the weapon that would kill somebody, but it was the way life had wanted it.

I aimed at Jen, cocked the gun, and followed her in the hallway. I kept threatening her with Josie's gun until we reached the staircase. I then guided her at gunpoint toward the main entrance down on the first level.

I stopped in front of the door.

''Stop...''

That was all Jen needed to stop all movement, and turn around, waiting for her fate. I aimed the gun toward her head.

Jen closed her eyes, not wanting to see those last seconds of desolation on this devastated earth.

''Jen...''

Jen opened her eyes out of surprise, and looked at me.

''Why are you making me wait that much? End this now...'' She pleaded.

''You are not dying today...''

Jen starred at me, not believing what she had heard.

''Look girl... I promised Kev I'd keep an eye on you... I failed. I don't want to fail twice.''

''I don't understand...''

''Jen, take the gun, this ammo, and go... I'll tell Josie I shot you...''

''But...''

''Look Jen, you are a good person. You just passed over the edge. It could have happened to all of us. If Josie had died back on the highway instead of Kevin, I would probably have done worse than you did.''

A few seconds passed, long as hours.

''Goodbye Jen...''

''Goodbye Matt.''

We exchanged one last friendly smile, and she turned around. She made a few steps, but stopped suddenly.

''Matt?''

''What?''

''Can I just know... why? Why did you let me go?''

I took a long time to answer. Tears ran down my cheeks, and my vision blurred.

''Someone's gotta make it out of here alive...''

**Epilogue**

_The outcome of the T-virus related incident in Canada : millions of death, and the almost total destruction of French Canada. At first, the American Government had planned to nuke the zone touched by the virus, but this plan was discontinued upon calculation of the nuclear needs a such operation would request. _

_So, as temporary solution to the problem, a containment wall was erected along the line long known as the limit between heaven and hell. It was only in 2014 that the viral infection level went back to zero on the entire territory. The official cause of the plague's end : lack of fresh meat for the mutant beings. _

_In late 2015, the search of the remains of Montreal started. Very few bodies were found, due to the high decomposition rate of those infected beings. Among what had once been the North End Montreal police precinct, the bodies of two teenagers of opposite sex, still pretty well conserved were found. They had bullet holes in the head, through the neck, as if the bullet had came from inside the mouth. Two handguns of different caliber were found laying next to the bodies. Ballistic studies on these two subjects confirm that the bullet that had caused both subject's death came form the opposite person's weapon. _

_Upon autopsy, it was revealed to the total astonishment of the world's medical and biological community that both subjects had never been in contact with the T-Virus..._

**_Hope you liked the ending. I know, it is a little rushed, but I can't come up with much more an that. This story was going nowhere otherwise. Tell me how you liked it, and if I should do a side story, probably one shot about Jen's escape, or Matt and Josie's suicide. Thanks so much to all my reviewers, and to everybody who read the story. If you want more from me, you can read Tied Until the End, which is another Reisdent Evil story. Or if you prefer another sibject, you can read my GTA story called ''The Pyramid of Violence'' The start sucks, but it gets better after... Have a good day..._**


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